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Unframe

(en) Pingipung are proud to present "Unframe", the debut album of the young Russian duo WOLS. While self-proclaimed insiders have mainly kept their ears tuned to releases from the UK, a lively dubstep scene has been thriving for years in the Russian Federation. And so WOLS bring more to the floor than just a bass whip. On the album "Unframe", you'll find majestic hymns ("International"), cut-up avant hip-hop beats ("Geek Rudohop"), dub tracks whose jittery cheerfulness is reminiscent of Aphex Twin ("Araamu's Army Vs. Our Sneakers") or their own highly unique electronica steppers with heart, soul, and the most wonderful pads ("Bathyscape Finds a Music Box"). Using old Sovyet vintage synths and drum computers in combination with fine recordings of live musicians, WOLS deliver a well-rounded album that offers all the thrills yet avoids the trap of simply stringing together dancefloor killers. Just as their music points to a variety of styles, their name points to a multitude of references: Firstly, it's an alias of the German painter Alfred Otto Wolfgang Schulze, as both members of WOLS like his pictures immensely. Secondly, it refers to the project's origins in techno: WOLS have gradually developped towards their current sound by slowing down ("SLOW") and stirring the 4/4 beat, and so SLOW became WOLS. Thirdly, in some colloquial variants of Russian, "WOLS" describes a slow person who has their head in the clouds. WOLS are Evgeny Shchukin (23) and Alexander Tochilkin (22). They have already released techno tracks on Ostwind, Level and Harthouse Mannheim under the name "Modul", and they run the FUSELab media resource for different types of sonic and visual art. The duo live in Southern Russia, in the city of Krasnodar (in English: beautiful gift), near the Black Sea. That region is famous for a particular kind of sunflower, and in a certain way, we actually owe the creation of the album to its seeds. To cut a lovely story short enough for this sheet, it's Krasnodar's prosperity through sunflowers which gave the young WOLS access to this high-end sonic range that we can hear on "Unframe".